Just saw my first one in the wild last week. Did not kill it as I was not prepared with the proper equipment. Cant wait to get some pics of them.

/Palm Beach County, woot!

fartacus: I'd be more concerned about gators than pythons.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHA! HA! HAHAHAHAHAHA!

/oh wait, you were serious...

Must be a perl fanboy.

HONDOWAYNE: Why do "We the people" keep putting up with this dumbass behavior of these congressman and senators? Vote these clowns out already!

Because we're stupid, brainwashed dolts who believe everything they say?

/got nuthin'

kb7rky: HONDOWAYNE: Why do "We the people" keep putting up with this dumbass behavior of these congressman and senators? Vote these clowns out already!

Because we're stupid, brainwashed dolts who believe everything they say?

/got nuthin'

What choice do we have? No person with morals wants to be in politics. You can't fight the system, so if you don't play with their rules then you'll be worthless. But playing by their rules means you get tons of perks. Politics in the United States is for people who sucked at sports but want to be part of a team.

I wish we had a political lottery system. You could opt-in, it would work much like jury duty, etc. Also, if you get caught doing something illegal (e.g., taking bribes) you are killed.

Just offer a reasonably high bounty on snake heads and the problem will go away in a few years. That's how they killed all of the wolves and mountain lions in the first place. $100 a head is more than enough to get people out there hunting them.

madgonad: Simple solution - $100 bounty

Exactly! That's the easiest solution right there, put a bounty on'm. Easiest solution.

The senator also says something stupid (not verbatim) "We have a tourist population, it's only a matter of time before we have a tragedy".
Yea, right. Any tourist swimming in the swamps deserves to be constricted.

forgot to add:

/easiest

LintLicker: Exactly! That's the easiest solution right there, put a bounty on'm. Easiest solution.

They were trying that. Who is going to foot the bill?

Sid_6.7: It would likely prove easier to breed snakes in captivity compared to wolves and lions.

You have to hunt with a notary, duh.

Mugato: No offense but you guys don't know what you're talking about.

Yeah, some people on Fark try to make it seem like they know what they are talking about, but trust me, they don't. That's why I'm getting a kick out of these replies. You see, I work for a snake charmer. Some people on Fark believe everything they hear, and this is how bad information gets passed around.

http://www.tv.com/King+of+the+Hill/SerPUNt/episode/930641/recap.html?tag=content _wrap;episode_recap

SNAKES Resolution 8.

Sid_6.7: It would likely prove easier to breed snakes in captivity compared to wolves and lions. Then you could just collect the bounties on those. Are they going to claim that the snakes have to be over a certain age/size? That would be counter-productive and would prolong the problem of them being around.

I'm sure that some people will try it, but at only $100 a head the cost of caring for your breeding stock is going to dramatically cut into your profits. A facility large enough to breed snakes in commercial quantities and make this whole thing profitable would attract notice and suspicion.

Especially since they sell as pets for $350+ and cost around $200 to feed per year.

"Team Snake" is on the case.

Mugato: To The Escape Zeppelin!: Just offer a reasonably high bounty on snake heads and the problem will go away in a few years

Brilliant. $100 x 100,000 and counting. They already have teams of people sweeping the everglades capturing and killing pythons and they can't keep up with their breeding. No offense but you guys don't know what you're talking about.

Have you got a better solution that doesn't involve hiring thousands of animal control people? A bounty makes it profitable for individuals to kill the snakes. Animal control jobs make about $15 an hour in Florida. That means to equal a $100 bounty they have to catch a snake every 6.6 hours with is easy. But only the people you hire are going to hunt the snakes which limits your total snake capture.

But since you are the expert here what do you suggest since current plans aren't working?

rohar:
I'm jealous. My wife won't let me play with reptiles anymore, they kinda freak her out. That one is going to be gorgeous and a friend for a LOT of years.

My wife is actually more into it that I am. On the other hand I can see why some people might not want a 12 foot snake around.

LeChiffre: "Team Snake" is on the case.

Thank you I was trying to find that...Bond Measure 8.

Pythons are taking over Florida? Sheeeeeeeeeeeit.

The python problem is only downstate in the southern most third of the state. There is some scientist who claims that they will eventually spread throughout the entire southeast Link, moving whereever the gators are.

But what controls the gators in northwest Florida is the weather. We have gators up here, but nothing like they have in the southern part of the state. Every few years we get a stretch of weather where it goes down to 20 degrees F every night for a couple of weeks, and the gators go away. Whether they die or just migrate away, I don't know, but they are not there anymore in places where they previously thrived. Then they are gone for five years or so until one day they come back. This has happened three times on the ponds around where I live during my lifetime. The python is supposed to be more adaptable, but I imagine it will be the same, and they will be threatening only the lower part of Florida.

Politicians like to use scientists to attempt to scare the crap out of the population, I imagine it gives them a feeling of importance to do so. They did this exact same thing with the "killer bees" a few years ago and the "poisonous Mexican fire ants" before that.

tonesskin: LintLicker: Exactly! That's the easiest solution right there, put a bounty on'm. Easiest solution.

They were trying that. Who is going to foot the bill?

Boot and purse making companies.

I'm sick and tired of these motherfarkin snakes on this plane in this swamp!

Found this PSA in comments below the article:
FapFap wrote on 07/18/2009 02:54:44 PM:
CruiserTwelve is a gay cop who Trolls on FARK . com

THERE ARE TROLLS ON FARK?.........OH MY!

Eyebleach: We had to sell our 15' retic python while in college. :( She liked to lay in the grass near the pool sunning while people would walk by and skritch her back with their feet. Someone had their parents over and while they were walking to the pool, his dad tripped on 'something' while fiddling with his towels and stuff. On the ground, he sat up on the grass while Tiny (our snake's name) reared up to see who was messing with her and actually looked down at the guy.

He freaked. Hyperventilation, heart arrhythmia... the whole deal. They had to call an ambulance. The city of Lubbock cited some wild animal code and said she had to go. The guy that bought her in a nearby town had an entire house freaking full of god awful poisonous snakes from all over the world, and a fridge with several different antivenins in it. Worst and stinkiest house I've ever been in.

They should have issued a citation for you being a douchebag too.

A Burmese Python just ate my dingo, so I'm getting a kick out of these posts.

*Sigh* He is probably one of the idiots who supports HR-669.

Also, what is with the highlights in that article?

Never fear, we've got this guy on the case:

Link (new window)

37 years at the public trough; those reptiles just met a bigger one.

varmitydog: Pythons are taking over Florida? Sheeeeeeeeeeeit.

The python problem is only downstate in the southern most third of the state. There is some scientist who claims that they will eventually spread throughout the entire southeast Link, moving whereever the gators are.

But what controls the gators in northwest Florida is the weather. We have gators up here, but nothing like they have in the southern part of the state. Every few years we get a stretch of weather where it goes down to 20 degrees F every night for a couple of weeks, and the gators go away. Whether they die or just migrate away, I don't know, but they are not there anymore in places where they previously thrived. Then they are gone for five years or so until one day they come back. This has happened three times on the ponds around where I live during my lifetime. The python is supposed to be more adaptable, but I imagine it will be the same, and they will be threatening only the lower part of Florida.

Politicians like to use scientists to attempt to scare the crap out of the population, I imagine it gives them a feeling of importance to do so. They did this exact same thing with the "killer bees" a few years ago and the "poisonous Mexican fire ants" before that.

The threat of "killer bees" is very real - no, you don't have to panic or cower in fear of them, but Africanized (oh, is that "racist"?) honey bees can kill you

This is also the first I've heard of "Mexican Fire Ants". I grew up with fire ants - I didn't even care what country they came from,

Go back under your bridge

First python caught under the new hunt:
http://www.keysnet.com/212/story/121981.html

Britney is unimpressed.

LintLicker: Boot and purse making companies

I have a baseball cap made out of (allegedly) Anaconda skin. I was thinking of putting it on eBay.

Mugato: CornFedIowan: Wasn't this part of a "Life After People" episode? ISTR a segment about pythons vs. gators. Can't remember who won.

There was one article where there was a 24 hour battle between a python and an alligator. The python eventually devoured the alligator and then exploded. I think it was here on fark.

The things are destroying the ecosystem and it's the geniuses who think they make good pets that are the cause.

Sort of: http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/snakegator.asp

And I'd say it's the people who think the swamp is a good area to dump a snake are the big problem.

Not impressed.

I wonder if any of these pythons are descendants of escapees after hurricanes in Florida.

If they'd pay $100 per snake, I'd be down there by Monday.

Put them on the menu and make shoes out of them. It might not cure the problem but it couldn't hurt.

Wasn't there a baby strangled by one recently?
Every now and then you hear about some Floridian finding a huge python under their house.

People buy these snakes/Alligators and then dump them when they get too big or expensive to keep. That is the real problem.

Mongo cut wood: People buy these snakes/Alligators and then dump them when they get too big or expensive to keep.

Uh, I doubt people dumping alligators really matters much in Florida.

Mongo cut wood: Wasn't there a baby strangled by one recently?

Yes, but that was 100% due to improper caging/keeper irresponsibility. The snake had escaped its cage on a prior date, but the owner did nothing to improve its security. No snake should ever be allowed to free roam your home, but that's essentially what was going on, given that they knew it could escape the cage it was in.

People need to learn to buy or build good, secure caging for their snakes, and then that type of incident would not occur. Keep whatever animals you please, as far as I'm concerned, as long as you:

a) do what's necessary to ensure both your safety and the safety of the animal, secure caging being especially important
b) ensure that the animal's needs are met for its entire lifetime - when you take an animal into your care, its every need becomes your responsibility.

If you can't handle or aren't willing to do either of the above for any reason, cost included, you should not own the animal in question.